


Ladybird

by Sioux



Series: Ladybird [1]
Category: The Bill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-28
Updated: 2012-03-28
Packaged: 2017-11-02 15:49:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/370694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sioux/pseuds/Sioux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Craig witnesses a mugging.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ladybird

Gilmore pulled the car into the car park, steered it neatly between two white lines, depressed the clutch, touched the footbrake then applied the hand brake. A textbook piece of parking. Automatically he checked his watch; 5:18am. He was a couple of minutes later than normal, but nothing to worry about. 

Calmly and methodically he locked the car, crossed the almost empty car park and made his way towards Sun Hill. At this time in the morning there was some traffic about but not too much. He crossed the road and hunched into his jacket a little more, there was a distinct early morning chill in the air. 

Just ahead a black Porsche drew up at the traffic lights, the tinted offside window was down several inches allowing soothing strains of J S Bach's Brandenburg Concerto to float out into the still morning air. 

Gilmore looked through the open window and saw the driver's profile; she was possibly the most amazing looking woman Gilmore had every seen. Long, wavy, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, her golden skin setting off the top half of the dark red dress he could see, perfectly. Her make-up was subtly applied as was the nail varnish on her finger tips resting upon the steering wheel. 

She turned to look, somehow aware of his scrutiny, the glint of a diamond collar sparkling around her neck. Gilmore found himself staring into a pair of dancing blue eyes, full of good humour, framed by thick black eyelashes. She smiled at him, a slow, sweet smile. Gilmore returned the smile, then shook himself and walked on. 

He acknowledged to himself whoever the woman was, she was obviously well off, extremely good looking and had incredible appeal, in spades! In fact he couldn't actually remember a time when a woman had ever stirred his hormones like that. 

Vaguely he wondered if confusion about ones sexuality could be a transmitted disease, perhaps he was turning into a Luke. 

A shout and a dull thud brought his musings to an abrupt end. Two men were at the side of the Porsche, one man had his hand through the window whilst his friend was trying the door.

"Hey!" Gilmore shouted, turning back and running towards the men and the car. 

The man with his hand through the window gave one more vicious pull and then they ran in the opposite direction. Craig reached the car and peered in through the window. She was still sitting in the driver's seat though looking considerably more dazed, a patch of dark liquid smeared across the inside of the window.

"I'm a police officer, love. Are you OK?" Gilmore asked, flashing his warrant card at her.

The eyes turned in his direction. She looked totally confused.

“What?” she asked slowly.

“Can you open the door?” he asked.

As she released the door locking mechanism Craig pulled the door open, using the side of the door. Gently he helped her out and then around to the passenger side, then he got into the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?” she asked in a soft, husky voice.

Even her voice was wonderful! He seriously started to wonder if he was turning straight after thirty odd years of being gay.

“I’m taking you to Sun Hill police station. It’s just along here,” he replied, doing a quick about turn in the car park and then roaring off up the road. 

The car was a very nice machine to drive but unfortunately the journey was very short. 

He pulled into the back gates of the station and parked the car in a visitors spot. Forensics may be able to lift fingerprints from the window and the door of the vehicle, assuming the rest of the nick could keep their hands off the paintwork.

“What’s your name again?” she asked.

“Gilmore. Sergeant Craig Gilmore.”

“Thank you Sergeant Gilmore, but I don’t think I need to be here. I don’t think they got anything.”

“Apart from your collar,” Craig replied making circular movements with his finger in the direction of her neck.

Startled she put her hand to her throat and swore softly under her breath. Her throat was beginning to bruise and bloodied scratches showed clearly where the collar had been pulled against her delicate skin before the catch broke.

“Was it real?” Craig asked.

She pursed her lips and nodded shortly.

“Come on inside and we’ll get the FME to have a look at you. You took a nasty knock to your head.”

All the fight seemed to go out of her at once as she sat back dejectedly in the seat. 

Craig got out of the car, again being careful where he touched the paintwork, and went around to the other side to help the woman out. 

Leather shoes, the exact colour of her dress emerged first, then endless, well-shaped legs. He reached in to help her out. The dress under his hands was body warm and felt like thistledown, obviously some form of silk, very expensive silk, unless he missed his guess. Its cut was superb and skimmed its owner’s contours in an extremely flattering manner. He looked down on the top of her head, smelling fresh flowers and discrete perfume. This woman was elegance and grace personified. 

He pointed the keyfob at the car and pressed the button. It’s lights flashed once as the doors sealed. He put his arm around her waist to guide her in the right direction and noticed she was starting to shiver, shock as well as chill air. He unzipped his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. Gratefully she pulled the edges of the coat around herself and smiled up at him then seemed to trip. Gilmore caught her before any damage could be done.

“You just hold on to me, love. This way,” he said as he once more put his arm around her waist and held on to her other hand to guide her into the station. "What's your name?"

"Gil. Gil Ansell."

"Gil, that's an unusual name," Gilmore replied taking her through custody. "Matt, can you get hold of the FME please?" 

"Why, what's happened?" Boyden asked without looking up.

"Mugging."

Boyden looked up and saw Gil. His jaw nearly hit the floor and he was out from behind the custody desk so fast Gilmore involuntarily looked for burn marks on the floor.

"Oh that looks nasty!" Boyden started off, pushing Gilmore out of the way and putting his arm around Gil. "You come and sit down over here…….."

Gilmore watched for a few seconds whilst Boyden attempted to become Mr Charm but only succeeded in being slimy. 

With a quiet sigh Gilmore went to telephone the FME and forensics to get them to look at the Porsche for possible fingerprints. Returning to the bench he leaned down and interrupted Boyden's oily flow.

"I'm just going to get changed, won't be long," he said, glancing at Boyden and trying to apologise with his eyes.

"We won't miss you Gilmore," Boyden replied. "I know how to look after a lady."

Gil glanced at Boyden then smiled her slow, sweet smile at Craig.

"Thank you Craig," she said softly.

Gilmore nodded and walked away towards the Sergeant's locker room overhearing Boyden's next remark.

"I wouldn't waste your time with him love, he bats for the other side."

Resolutely he walked on and refused to glance back.

 

By the time he had changed into his uniform the doctor had arrived and was taking a look at Gil’s injuries and half the relief had also arrived and were also trying to get a look at the beauty in the custody suite. Craig arrived back to hear Boyden saying to Luke,

“Trust Gilmore to get hold of a good looking woman like that, the only bloke on the relief who wouldn’t know what to do with her!”

“Matt, just shut up!” Craig replied. It was too early in the morning to think of witty repartee added to which it would have been wasted on Boyden. “Luke aren’t you going to be late for parade?” he asked the younger officer sharply.

“Er, yes Sarge,” Luke mumbled hurrying away.

Several minutes later the doctor left the small room where she had been treating Gil.

“How is she, doctor?”

“She’s fine. Superficial scratches and bruises. The head injury isn’t too serious either. I’ll get my report over to you. Must dash.”

Gil emerged from the treatment room, still clutching Gilmore’s jacket around her shoulders.

Boyden again leapt into action ushering her to a seat in the sergeant’s office. Gilmore went to the machine and got a cup of tea for her. He took it into the sergeant’s office, smoothly interrupting Boyden he asked,

“Do you feel up to making a statement?”

“Oh thank you!” she replied, taking hold of the cup gratefully. “Yes, I can make a statement.”

“Well, we can do that here. I’m sure Matt has other duties,” he said pointedly.

Matt departed with very bad grace.

As soon as the door had shut Gil asked,

“Why does he treat you like that?”

Craig shrugged.

“As he told you, I bat for the other side.”

“You’re gay?”

Craig nodded.

“That’s no reason for him to be so unpleasant.” She sounded quite angry on his behalf.

“That’s just Matt being Matt.”

“The door wasn’t quite shut when the doctor was taking a look at me and I could hear everything he was saying. I thought that kind of discrimination had died out years ago.”

“Well, he is a bit of a dinosaur,” Craig said, getting out some clean statement forms and sitting down at his desk. 

“Are you sure it’s because he isn’t too sure of him own sexuality?”

Craig laughed, his face transforming from its usual sombre lines.

“Now there’s a horrible thought!”

Gil shivered theatrically.

“All he sees is a woman’s pretty face and he’s immediately trying to get into her knickers,” she said crudely. “Hasn’t he realised yet, most women like conversation as well?”

“Perhaps you’d better ask his ex-wife.”

“Ex-wife? Why does that not surprise me?”

Craig looked down at the papers on his desk trying to hide his smile. Beautiful, elegant, charming, had a sharp mind and a sharp tongue as well. Gilmore was almost in love!

“Can you give me a description of the men who attacked you?” Gilmore asked, getting on with taking her statement.

“Not really. I didn’t get a good look at them, they seemed to come out of nowhere.”

“Do you think you’d recognise them if you saw them again?”

“Not sure. Not being a big help here, am I?”

“We have photos you can look through, see if any of the faces are familiar.”

“I did notice a good looking young man walk past the car a few minutes earlier though. He might have got a better look at them.”

“Description?” Gilmore asked quickly.

“About six feet tall, dark brown eyes, trim build, mid brown hair.” 

Gilmore wrote quickly and neatly taking down the description.

“Did you notice his clothes?”

“Jeans, blue jeans, stone coloured short jacket with dark brown trim, nice smile. Lovely caring manner, would love to go for a drink with him.”

Craig stopped writing when he realised he was taking down a description of himself. He looked into Gil’s eyes seeing them sparkle with laughter.

“This is supposed to be serious Miss Ansell,” he replied sternly.

“Yes, I know Sergeant Gilmore. But let’s face it, if those two haven’t been arrested before the chances of catching them and getting my property back is pretty remote, isn’t it?”

“Forensics may turn up something,” he said. The fact she was openly flirting with him despite knowing he was gay was confusing.

“And they may not. Do you think you could recognise them again?”

“I didn’t see their faces clearly and I was quite a way away, but I’ll certainly be making a witness statement.”

She reached across and placed her hand over his, which was lying on his desk.

“Thank you for all you help, even if you don’t ever find them.”

She gripped his hand then slid it away. “I can look at those photographs as well, something might jog my memory.”

 

Several hours later forensics had finished dusting her car for fingerprints. They had managed to lift a good set from the door handle, and Gil had looked through several volumes of photographs. She had pointed out two faces which seemed familiar to her and Gilmore had dutifully made a note of them. Statements had been taken as well as a description of her diamond collar. She promised to send a photograph of the collar along to aid with identification, then she had asked to leave.

“I’m quite tired and I have some telephone calls to make too.”

“You can leave anytime you wish, you’re not under arrest,” Craig replied.

She nodded her thanks.

“May I ask a favour?” she said as she stood up.

“Sure.”

“Would you escort me to my car, please?”

Craig smiled, his dimples showing prominently.

“You should do that more often, you look years younger when you smile.”

He grinned even more.

“OK, I’ll keep the wolves at bay for you,” he replied showing her which way to go. 

He took her back through custody and out through the cage at the back of the building. Luke was ascending the concrete ramp as they were descending. 

“Luke,” he said, nodding at him.

“Sarge,” Luke replied, looking at Gil and then taking in the jacket she was wearing. 

He looked at Gilmore then back at Gil, the expression on his face changing to one of suspicion and distrust.

Craig escorted Gil right to the door of her car. As she handed his jacket back to him she said,

“Sorry if you’re going to get it in the ear from you boyfriend for lending me this.”

“Boyfriend? No. I’m free and single at the moment.”

“Oh, but I thought that young constable we’ve just walked past….”

“Luke? No. Luke recently got married to that blonde PC over there,” he said, pointing in the direction of Kerry. “What made you think he was my boyfriend?”

“I’m sorry. It was just the way he looked at me in your jacket. I beg your pardon, I must be more tired than I thought.”

“It’s OK. Make sure you drive carefully. Don’t want anything else happening to you,” Craig replied.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “Thanks again for everything Craig.”

“My pleasure. We’ll be in touch if there’s any new information.”

“Or you could just ring me and we could go somewhere for a drink and chat?” she made the statement sound like a question. 

He laughed again not really taking her seriously now.

“If you want,” he agreed, flippantly.

She cocked her head at him like a cheeky sparrow and gave him the full benefit of her slow sensuous smile, before closing the car door.

 

Gilmore watched as she negotiated her way out of the yard then made his way back inside. Luke was waiting for him at the top of the ramp, a cup of steaming liquid in his hands. He didn’t waste any time on preliminaries.

“Who’s she?” he asked belligerently.

“What’s it to you?” Craig replied in the same tone.

“Come on, who is she? Someone pretty special, she walked out of here wearing your jacket.”

“She’s a very pleasant young woman who was mugged this morning at the traffic lights and I was a witness, that’s all.”

“She was all over you! Didn’t you tell her you’re gay?” Luke snapped.

“For a start, Luke, my sexuality has nothing to do with this, but as it happens yes she does know. And strangely enough a lot of women feel safer with a gay man than a straight one. We don’t tend to lie to them quite as much!” he finished, slamming the cage door shut behind him. 

Luke’s face flamed crimson at his words. Craig was very annoyed. Luke was quite obviously jealous. Unfortunately Craig wasn’t too sure which one he was jealous of, Gil or himself.

 

Being snowed under by piles of work made the rest of the day pass very quickly for Craig. The same was not true for Luke, time seemed to crawl past on leaden feet. He wanted to speak to Craig again about that woman, Gil. He just had a very bad feeling about her and it certainly was not like Craig to make a big deal over a woman. 

More than a couple of hours after his shift should have ended, Craig decided to call it a day and go home. He got changed quickly and walked back to his car. The car park was emptying out now with lots of other people preparing to go home for the evening too. He didn’t notice a sleek black car slot into the traffic behind him and he certainly didn’t have a clue about the second car which kept back behind the black car. 

 

Craig drove straight home through the gathering gloom. He didn’t like this time of year. He seemed to always be in the dark. He drove to work in the dark and frequently drove home in the dark as well. Finding a parking place nearby his front door, he slotted his car in neatly, locked up and quickly went indoors. The black car found a place further down the road, whilst the third car pulled up diagonally opposite Craig’s house. 

Gil picked up her small case, exited her car and walked calmly to Craig’s front door. She passed a young man who was apparently reading a paper in his car, a baseball cap pulled down firmly on his head. She glanced back at him but he didn’t look up. She rang the front door bell at Craig’s house and waited. Craig answered the door quite quickly.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hello,” he replied slowly wondering how on earth she’d tracked him down.

“I followed you home,” she told him, apparently divining his thoughts. “Don’t worry, nothing sinister. I have a proposition I think you might be interested in. By the way, did you know your recently married colleague has followed you home as well?”

“What?”

“He’s sitting in that car across the road, pretending to read the paper.”

Craig allowed his eyes to wander along the cars on the opposite side of the road. It didn’t take him long to spot the one Luke was sitting in. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing then he transferred his attention back to Gil. He considered her for a moment then opened the door wider, allowing her into the hall.

Luke lifted his head from the paper he wasn’t reading, conscious of a hot flare of anger at the young woman. He just knew there was something not quite right with her. Given Craig’s predilection for picking wrong ‘uns he decided to stay right where he was until she left the premises, then he could go and talk to Craig and ask his what he thought he was playing at.

Three and a half hours later Luke was cold, stiff and hungry. His bladder was also joining in with the general protests too. Movement from Craig’s house sharpened his concentration. The curtains downstairs were pulled closed, shutting out the light from the lamp in the lounge, then the light behind the front door went on. No-one came out of the house though. A few minutes later a lamp in the upstairs room was switched on then he saw Gil outlined in the window. The bright cobalt blue dress she was wearing showed up clearly, even in the dim light from the lamp inside. A larger shape, which must be Gilmore, Luke surmised, came and stood behind her, then bent down. He looked as if he were kissing the side of her neck. She pulled one of the curtains across the window before turning around and holding her face up to be kissed. 

Luke’s eyes nearly fell out of his head as he saw him kissing Gil. Not just a quick peck on the cheek either, a long, tender kiss. Luke’s lips tingled as he remembered the times he’d kissed Craig. He knew exactly how it would feel. Craig lifted his head and smiled down at Gil, running his fingers through her hair and saying something to her. Gilmore looked so happy he couldn’t believe it. Craig couldn’t have been winding the relief up all this time about being gay. No way. Not after he’d seen him with Sean and then with Carl and even, dear god, what they’d done together on his own stag night. No, he can’t have been lying. But, by the same token there he was kissing a very beautiful woman in his bedroom. 

Gil reached up and put her arms around his neck then gave a little jump, locking her long legs around Craig’s waist. That seemed to be the signal to send them into a passionate frenzy of kissing. They both seemed to be trying to eat each other alive. 

Craig was supporting her weight with a hand under her rear end, his other hand was searching mid-air for the other curtain. Impatiently he lifted his head for a second, found the curtain and pulled, shutting out Luke’s view of the bedroom.

Luke leaned back in the driver’s seat. He was breathing heavily. A hot pain tightened his lips and seemed to spread out from the centre of his chest. It didn’t look like Gil would be leaving Craig’s house before morning and he didn’t think they would be spending the time discussing the current political climate either. He felt quite unreasonably hurt and betrayed. 

Angrily he started the car and put it into gear, beginning the drive home. He was nearly at his own front door before he had managed to identify what he’d been feeling. He was jealous, insanely jealous of the beautiful woman who was currently making love with Craig. He longed to have the courage to be where she was but knew it was unlikely he would ever be brave enough to admit to Kerry that he loved Gilmore. Now, here he was, back at the flat he shared with his beautiful pregnant wife, when his heart and mind were still looking forlornly up at a shuttered bedroom window a few miles away. 

 

“Sarge, you coming out as well?” Tony asked, as Craig walked down the corridor towards the little knot of police officers. 

“Special occasion is it?” Craig asked.

“Yeah, come on Sarge, you know it’s my birthday,” Gary Best chimed in. 

Most of the nick knew it was his birthday, he’d been going on about it for at least a week.

“Ah well, in that case, I’ll be along later,” he said, cheerfully.

“Good one. Luke, you coming?” Gary shouted.

“Well, I don’t know,” Luke stammered, casting reproachful looks at Craig, who blithely ignored him and went into his office.

“Go on, Luke. You’ll enjoy it,” Kerry said, encouraging him.

“Oh alright then,” he said, hoping that he might get Craig on his own and tackle him about Gil.

“Get the birthday boy a double,” Boyden shouted over the usual public house hub bub, waving a twenty pound note around. 

Luke took the money and went to the bar to order. By the time he returned with the drinks Boyden and Best were both flirting like mad with a young woman. She had her back to Luke so he didn’t immediately recognise her.

“Luke, go back and get Gil a drink, will ya?” Boyden asked, not expecting anything other than obedience. 

The woman turned around and smiled at Luke.

“Hello again Luke,” she said in her soft husky voice.

“What do you want?” he growled ungraciously.

“Dry white wine please,” she said, turning back to Boyden almost immediately.

“What are you doing in here?” Boyden asked.

“I’m waiting for a friend but I think I’m rather early.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep you entertained,” Boyden boasted.

Luke bought the wine and shoved the glass at her. She thanked him nicely then turned back to Boyden. Luke retired to the bar to sulk on his own. He was under no illusions who Gil’s ‘friend’ would be. 

Gil certainly appeared to be enjoying Boyden’s heavy flirting and crass sexual innuendos, in the meantime. She was never far away from him and seemed to be positively encouraging him. 

Luke watched in silence as she let Boyden kiss her, then kiss her several more times. At one point her mobile telephone rang, she answered it, had a short conversation with the caller then turned back to Boyden. Luke could hear him, even from the bar, urging Gil to ditch her so far no-show date and go for a meal with him. 

Luke was paying so much attention to Boyden and Gil he didn’t, at first, noticed Craig standing quietly at the back of the pub watching them too. Gil leaned forward and let Boyden give her the most passionate kiss as yet of the evening. Then she announced that she had to go. She turned and smiled at Craig, who smiled back at her, despite what he had just seen.

“Bloody ‘ell! You trying the other side of the fence Gilmore?”

“Well, you know what you’re always saying, Matt. Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.”

Craig leant down and gently kissed Gil’s painted lips.

Boyden’s jaw sagged.

“You ready?” Craig asked holding her hand.

Gil nodded at him.

“We’ll have to go for that meal some other time, Matt. Thanks for asking me,” she said, her voice seeming to ring out clearly, despite it’s husky softness.

Craig smiled wolfishly at Boyden as he was leaving the pub.

“Yeah, some other time Matt,” he said sarcastically before leaving with Gil.

Boyden was crimson, furious, at the chorus of wolf whistles and laughter which greeted his discomfiture.

“She’ll soon be back, when she wants a real man,” he growled out, sinking half of his pint in one gulp. 

Luke turned back to the bar, noticing for the first time Reg was looking at the swinging door, very thoughtfully, whilst at the same time completely ignoring Des, prattling on at his side.

“Oy! You listening to me or what?” Des asked.

“What? Yes, course I was.”

“What was I talking about then?”

“Football,” Reg replied without hesitation.

“Lucky guess, Reggie babe, lucky guess.”

Luke concentrated on emptying his pint glass. He had that burning angry hurt feeling back in his chest again. All he wanted to do was get out of the pub and go home.

 

Both Luke and Craig were sporting shadowed eyes the next day. Craig however, seemed quite happy whilst Luke was ever more morose. Boyden was his usual self but Craig was ignoring him for most of the time. On odd occasions Luke caught Craig smiling to himself, then the hot pain would jab him hard.

The day was unseasonably mild for the time of year, prompting those on refs to take their break outside in the sunshine. Craig was sipping his tea, listening with half an ear to the gossip going on around him whilst aimlessly wandering around the yard.   
The gates were standing wide open and leaning against one of them was a young man. Luke’s gaze was first attracted by the expensive leather jacket he was wearing then he noticed the well cut trousers and highly polished leather shoes, which, if they weren’t Gucci were a very good copy. His cashmere sweater, in charcoal grey, topped off the ensemble perfectly. The man had turned to talk to Gilmore. Luke saw his long hair gathered at the nape of his neck in a ponytail. The young man and Gilmore were chatting easily and happily, like old friends. Even from this distance Luke could see he was remarkably good-looking. Suddenly Reg was at his side, quietly sniggering.

“What?”

“Don’t you recognise him?” Reg asked.

Boyden, who was standing a few feet away regarding his cup, turned to look at Gilmore too.

“No, never seen him before,” Luke replied.

“Imagine him in a dress and make-up, driving that Porsche you had your eye on.”

Luke looked back at Gilmore then the young man, who was looking right at him. 

There was a look of such compassion and sadness, for a second in his eyes, before he smiled his slow, sweet smile, then returned his complete attention to Craig who was escorting him across the yard.

“Just going to check a couple of points on Gil’s statement,” Craig announced to   
no-one in particular.

“Hi Matt,” Gil said brightly. “We will have to go for that meal soon,” he said preceding Craig up the ramp.

At almost the same moment the rest of the relief recognised Gil.

“You know what they say Matt, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!” Gilmore said softly and maliciously in Boyden’s ear as he passed.

Boyden was turning an interesting shade of puce. 

“Gilmore! I’ll get you for this!” he yelled at the top of his voice as the rest of the relief laughed heartily.

Even Luke joined in. In some strange way he was relieved to see Gil was really a man. It put everything back to normal in his world.

He was less pleased when he went to pick up his car later on. A familiar black Porsche was next to it. The rest of the car park was devoid of people. He tried to look nonchalant as he strolled towards the car until he saw, even through the tinted glass, Gilmore and Gil wouldn’t have been paying him any attention. They were kissing in the front seat, their attention firmly inside the car. 

Gil turned quickly and caught him staring at them but it was the same look of sad understanding from that afternoon in the young man’s eyes which transfixed Luke. Swiftly he muttered something to Gilmore then they both got out of the car.

“Hello Luke,” Gil said.

“Hi.”

“We were just going to dinner. Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you. It’s OK.”

“We’d be pleased to have your company,” Gil persisted.

“Think the Sarge wants you to himself,” Luke said.

“Luke, you are more than welcome to join us,” Craig said, seconding Gil’s invitation.

Luke hesitated for a few seconds.

“Please!” Gil added.

“I’m not exactly dressed for going anywhere posh,” he said.

“Do I look as if I am?” Craig snorted.

 

Dinner was good. Gil was charming, witty and very entertaining. He could talk effortlessly and eloquently on any subject which came up. Craig was smiling and laughing a lot, his face softening whenever he looked at Gil. Luke should have enjoyed himself tremendously with such good company but he didn’t. 

His unreasonable jealousy had prompted him to accept their invitation to dinner hoping Gil would turn out to be another Carl perhaps. He was very conscious that Craig really liked Gil. But Gil wasn’t another Carl. 

Underneath the razor sharp mind was a kind, compassionate and decent human being. Gil was brave, funny and rich. He belonged to a world Luke knew nothing about. He was paid, very highly, to be a witty, intelligent hostess and companion to very rich businessmen. In his mind Luke tried to equate Gil to a rent boy or a tom, but he couldn’t. 

Gil might sometimes sleep with his clients, but he was so much more exclusive that your average tom on the street corner, charging fifty quid a pop. He could cope with life dressed either as a woman or a man and he didn’t care who knew what he did for a living. He was gay and not ashamed of it. A lowly PC who could not even admit that he was bi-sexual could not compete with someone as dazzling as that. 

 

Gil dropped Luke off at his flat, both Craig and Gil declining an invitation to come in for coffee with the excuse it was late and Kerry needed her sleep. He said goodnight and made his way upstairs. Kerry was already in bed asleep. Quietly he got undressed in the bathroom and stepped under the shower using the water to cover the sounds of his grief. He knew he was losing the one man who loved him more than anything else, and he knew he did not have the courage to fight for him.

In the bedroom Kerry lay awake and listened to her husband sobbing in the bathroom. Neither Luke, Gil nor Craig had seen her in the yard at refs that afternoon. For one unguarded moment she’d seen the naked, yearning, longing in Luke’s eyes as he looked at Craig, then she’d seen the compassionate understanding on Gil’s face as he too had caught that look. She loved Luke but now she knew for sure Luke loved Craig. She had married a gay man. 

So, what to do? Release him and hope he’d come back to her and their child one day, or do nothing and hope that her attractions would be stronger than Craig’s. But then, what about the one after Craig, and the one after that. Would she always be able to compete with the shadowy boyfriends of the future? Would she even want to?   
In the bathroom the shower stopped. Kerry closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.


End file.
